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for the purpose of destroying each other, and the others to witness the action; perhaps the most simple way of expressing what is termed "an affair of honour." As two of these four were seriously determined each to blow out the other's brains, they hired from the gunsmith a superb pair of pistols, in such admirable condition, that it was really a pleasure for gentlemen of honour to split skulls with such weapons. Arrived at the wood, the ground was chosen, a beautiful downy turf, fresh, shady, and inviting; in fact, such as two twilight lovers might have selected as a place of rendezvous.

"There, let's make haste," exclaimed one, "here's the spot. We wait but for these gentlemen to hand us our instruments, and then we commence with the ball."

"But for all that," ventured one of the seconds

"I shall be sure to leave my bones here rather than make an apology." "So much the better," replied his adversary. "For rest assured I would not accept of one."

They received each a loaded pistol. The first who fired, made the hat of his antagonist fly from his head.

"The aim was too high," said he, lowering very coolly his pistol, the buttend of which, by way of parade, he placed over his eyes.

"Thank you," replied the other, and in his turn let fly.

"Ah! oh!" exclaimed his adversary, receding a step. "You don't profit amiss by the advice which one gives you.

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The fact was that the ball had shattered the stock of the pistol, which he held in his hand, and but for his lucky idea, would have drilled a hole in his head.

“Enough, enough," said the seconds. Willing or unwilling they were reconciled somewhat in the same way that an axle-tree is repaired, which has given way on the road; the first jolt upsets the carriage.

They then returned to the gunsmith's to restore the arms which they had borrowed.

"The d-l!" exclaimed the man, "there is no question here but some head has escaped beautifully! But who is to pay me for the damage?"

""Twould be droll were it I," said he who broke the pistol.

"But not so droll either," answered the one who had escaped.

"It was not

I who lodged the ball in the stock."

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"So much the worse for you, if you parry so well."

"Indeed! So I am to pay for the pleasure of having come within an ace of getting my skull cracked."

And I am to pay for your pleasure at finding yourself in life and unscathed."

"Pleasure or not, I defy you to lay it to my charge.'

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"That is what we must see."
"Directly."

"This very minute."
"With all my heart."

And snatching a pair of foils, they rushed like madmen to the door; the one who had damaged the pistol, was especially delighted to take his revenge. But the poor d-1 was far from possessing a lucky hand that morning. At the first pass he himself was run through.

"You are a dead man!" exclaimed the other, passing his sword through the body.

""Tis possible," murmured he, as he fell; "but for all that, it is not I who will pay for the pistol,' J. G. W.

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A circumstance occurred about this time in the neighbourhood of Montivilliers, which I do not think useless to relate to you, were it only to forwarn you against certain pastimes with which people of bad taste sometimes amuse themselves in this country. I speak of those kinds of diversions which consist of playing tricks. A young member of parliament from Normandy, named M. de Martainville, (newly married), had assembled in his chateau about twenty persons who had intended to pass the holidays there, and among the number were several officers of the neighbouring garrisons.

They pierced the walls and floors to attach threads to your curtains and coverlids; they dug holes concealed beneath the grass, to cause the overthrow of rider and steed; they put salt in your coffee, pepper in your tobacco, and coloquintida at the edge of your goblet. Burgundy pitch in your linen, and chopped horsehair in the sheets of your bed. You may imagine that there were frogs and crabs in every bed in the castle. That is a fundamental idea in these pro

vincial mystifications, and they tell me it is the first thought which enters the minds of these charming country wags. No one could go to visit the young couple without finding himself assailed by all this vulgar fun of snares and impertinent jokes, which made their castle a rock and a shoal for all the neighbouring nobility.

Le Martainville and his lady expected Madame Herault de Sechelles to visit them, the widow of the intendant of Alençon, who was going to the waters of Barege by short journeys, and they had invited her to rest several days at Martainville. It is as well to mention that she was recovering from an inflammation of the lungs that she had an income of sixty thousand livres, and the Martainvilles were her principal heirs. She was an old femme de robe, infinitely fastidious and whimsical, and exacting to an excess--one of those real intendantes who are flattered by the society of a small town, and who never take the trouble to turn up the cards at reversis; alluding to which, Cardinal de Fleury used to say to the young king, when he played thoughtlessly, "Madame L'Intendante, it is your turn to turn up the cards."

"Ah!" said the Martainvilles to all their flocks of starlings and crows, "no more follies during the stay of Aunt de Sechelles. Be wise and serious, gentlemen and ladies, and do not forget that she is a rich relation."

They had removed, I don't know what lady president, to reserve the best room for this illustrious valetudinarian, and placed all the most commodious furniture in the chamber destined for her, as well as all the most charming Chinese ornaments and porcelaines de Saxe in the house. Care was taken to keep a fine poutarde au gros sel, with pigeons bouillis a l'orge mondée, and cailles au laitues, without counting fresh eggs in cold water, and Alicant wine in warm. In short, the kitchen and whole household of Martainville had been kept under arms for more than eight days, and Madame L'Intendante did not arrive! The family began to be uneasy, and the guests were impatient.

You must know that the master of the house had never seen his wife's aunt, and she had not herself seen her old relation since the age of five or six years, from which originated the idea of playing them a trick. Among this facetious troop, was a little Mr. Clermont D'Amboise, who, be it said in passing, wished to marry me some years after, but the

gratitude that I owe him does not prevent me from saying that he was a villanous, little, yellow rascal. He was to be disguised as an old woman; a young officer intended to dress himself as a waiting-woman; and, above all things, they had taken great care to conceal the preparations of these disguises, which were only known to two or three persons; but they were divulged by the attendant of a dandy in the society. Immediately art was opposed to art, and arrangements were made to mystify the mystifiers. Thus, while they were waiting to receive the masqueraders with buffets and abuse in the best possible manner, lo! the real Intendante arrived. They precipitated themselves on her like an avalanche, tore her furbelowed gown, her stiffened collar, her cap, her wig, and finally treated her in such a cruel manner, that the thing is horrible to think of. The poor lady was so suddenly seized, that she could neither cry out nor utter a single word, but in their exclamations she heard the most perfidious revelations. "Vile ostrich! tiresome woman! old dowager! ah, you are going to the waters to make your heirs languish, are you? Here are mineral waters-here are baths!" and kicks and cuffs, and pailfulls of pump-water fell on her amidst the most frightful tumult. After a quarter of an hour of such treatment, she had fallen beneath the blows and remained prostrate on the pavement of the hall, when they perceived that she shewed no signs of life. Lights were brought,and they beheld not the little Clermont, but the poor old lady almost dead.

She

Every one fled from the castle except the relations, who tore their hair, and could not come into her presence without feeling the deepest horror! died the third day, and as she had made no will, it was found that the fortune was naturally to devolve to the Martainvilles. They were thus compromised in the public opinion to such a degree, that the dreadful mistake was judicially inquired into, and M. de Martainville was obliged to appear in his defence.

As he was full of honour, and his wife was delicacy itself, they would touch absolutely nothing of the inheritance, which they gave up to the collateral heirs. Soon after they sold the fine manor of Martainville, and even changed their name to that of their barony of

which the family still bear. Madame de Maintenon said, that good taste implies good sense, and that is the moral of this anecdote. J. G. W.

London in the Sixteenth Century.

THE following singular account of the manners of our ancestors is taken from an extremely curious book, printed in Paris in 1558, and written by a Frenchman of the name of Perlin, who came over to England in the suite of the French ambassador, who resided here at the latter end of the reign of Edward VI. This work, which is very rare, is a small duodecimo, and is entitled, "Description des Royaulmes d'Angleterre et d'Escosse, composé par Maistre Estienne Perlin ;" and it is dedicated to the Duchess de Berri, the sister of Henry II., then king of France. This work contains some singular historical anecdotes respecting the accession of Mary to the throne, which we do not recollect to have met with elsewhere; and also an account of her public entrance into London. It likewise gives some details respecting the execution of the Duke of Northumberland, and other partisans of Lady Jane Grey. From the extracts which we give, it will be obvious that the French formerly possessed that happy facility of mis-spelling our proper names which they are celebrated for in the present day; indeed, in this respect they so metamorphose classical names, as frequently to render the application dubious -an unpardonable liberty.

"The inhabitants of this place (London) are fond of good cheer, and are given to banquetting; you see many rich taverns, and the tavern-keepers have ordinarily full houses, and possess much silver from this you may believe that the country is very rich. The persons engaged in trade or handicraft gain more in this place in a week than those in Germany or Spain do in a month. For you may see the hat-makers and joiners, and other artisans, commonly playing at ball for a crown piece, which is hardly to be seen in any other place, and more particularly so on a working day. And then to see them making good cheer every day in the taverns, on rabbits, leverets, and all other viands. The natives of France, chiefly to be met with in this country, are Normans, of the district of Caux, who have become naturalized English: these are very bad and illspoken, and worse than any of the English, and they never speak from their hearts (i.e. with sincerity). Fish is in great plenty here, as well as beer. I have purchased nine plaice for a denier, which is called a peni (penny). In this country there are several kinds of money, the smallest is

called a fardin (farthing), which is the half of a tournoys, a half-penny; another coin is the gros (groat); the next sixpence, the other chelin (shilling). The men are tall, red-haired, and upright; and commonly they are of white complexions, for they are towards the north. The women are esteemed the most beautiful in the world, and are as white as alabaster, and do not even displease the Italians, the Flemings, or the Germans; they are joyous, courteous, and kind. The English are very joyous one with another, and are very fond of music, for there is no church, however small, in which they do not sing music. They are also great drunkards: for if an Englishman wishes to treat you, he will say in his own language, "Vis dring a quarta vim vim Gasquoine, vim Lespaignol, vim Malvoysey;" that is to say, come and drink a quart of Gascony wine, or Spanish wine, or Malmsey wine: in drinking and in eating they will say, more than a hundred times, "drind iou; that is to say, I drink to you and you answer in their language, "eplaigiu," which is to say, I pledge you. If you thank them, you say to them, in their language, "God tanque artelay;" that is to say, I thank you with all my heart. When you drink with them you swear by your life or death that you will drink all that you have in your cup, and you say, "Bigod sol drind iou agoud oin." I will drink your good wine. Observe, if you please, that in this country, they commonly use vessels of silver when they drink wine, and you will ordinarily say at table, "good cheer." The servants wait upon their masters with uncovered heads, and lean their caps on the buffets: it is necessary to mark that in this kingdom, so excellent in other respects, there is no order. The people are rough, and are enemies to good manners, and also to letters. They know not what is due to God; and what St. Paul said to another people applies to them: "Be not carried away by every wind of doctrine, but be constant and continue in what you believe." In this country the shops of all the trades-people are open, as those of the barbers in France, and have also large openings of glass for the workshops and upper chambers, and this is the case with the shops of the tradespeople in all the towns."

The extreme severity of our criminal laws in those days did not escape the well-merited censure of the author of this work, for he says: "In this country you will not meet with many great lords, the

heads of whose near relatives have not been cut off. Truly I would love better to be (with reverence to my reader be it spoken) a swineherd, and preserve my head: for this evil falls heavily on the heads of great lords. You here see noblemen in great pomp and magnificence for a time, and almost on the turn of the hand you see them under the axe of the executioner. On this account they have a proverb which says, that there have been many, who, if they had remained humble and in low estate, or in exile, would have lived securely, and without constraint; but, being exalted, and made great lords, they fell into peril and confusion. This certainly has been as much the case in this country as in any kingdom in the world." After contrasting the happy state of France in this respect as compared to England, he proceeds

"In England the administration of justice is very severe; for a man for almost nothing may be put to death: whilst in France they would condemn a man for an offence to be whipped, they would certainly in England sentence him to death. True it is, they have but two kinds of punishment, namely, hanging and beheading; and the malefactors have as much inducement to commit great crimes as minor crimes, which ought not to be the case. The practice is better in France, for there, there are several punishments, according to the demerit of the offender. In this island they have neither the wheel nor any other kind of torture. They always put, therefore, criminals to death by hanging them without the town on gibbets of wood, but the nobles are beheaded in London, to excite the terror of the people."

Morning Chronicle.

THE RIVAL LADIES:

AN ANDALUSIAN TALE,

FROM THE MISCELLANEOUS WORKS OF CERVANTES.

(For the Parterre).

CHAPTER III.

-Women are angels, wooing; Things won are done; joy's soul lies in the doing: That she beloved knows nought that knows not

this;Men prize the thing ungained more than it is. TROILUS and CRESSIDA.

THE youth had been listening with great attention to all that Teodoro had said to him; and as soon as she had ceased speaking, before he said a word in answer, he took her hands, and pressing

them by force to his lips, bathed them in a shower of tears, that streamed from his beautiful eyes; which extraordinary emotion so excited the feminine sympathy of Teodoro, that she could not help mingling her tears with those of the weeping youth, and thereby betraying her own sex, had the other been calm enough to have observed her. However, when she had withdrawn her hands, with some gentle violence, from the lips of the youth, she waited attentively for his answer, and at length, after fetching several deep sighs, he said,

"I neither will nor can deny to you, sir, that your suspicion is correct. I am a woman, and the most unfortunate that was ever of woman born; and since the kindness which you have done me, and the offers of service which you make, oblige me to do what you request, hearken to me, and I will tell you who I am, if, indeed, you are not already wearied by hearing of misfortunes in which you have no part."

"I always feel an interest in them," replied Teodoro; "but in the present instance, my interest is at least equalled by the pain which I feel at their being yours, which begin to affect me as if they were my own.'

With these words, again embracing her, and repeating her honorable assurances, the disguised damsel, now somewhat more tranquil, gave her true history as follows:

"As to which is my native place, I have told you the truth, but as to who are my parents, I have not; for Don Sancho is not my father, but my uncle. His brother, Don Enrique, is my father, and I am that unfortunate daughter of his whom your brother has said to be so much celebrated for beauty, the mistake of which appears in the little beauty which I can boast of. My name is Leocadia: the occasion of my assuming this garb you will presently hear. Two leagues from our town is one of the richest and noblest in Andalusia, in which there resides a gentleman of high condition, who derives his origin from the noble and eminent Genoese family of Adorno. This gentleman has a son, who, unless the fame of his attractions, like that of mine, far exceeds the truth, is one of the most handsome and accomplished of men.

"This young gentleman, owing to the proximity of the places, and to his being, like my father, fond of field sports, used semetimes to come to our house, and remain there five or six days, the whole of which, and even part of the nights, he

and my father passed in the field. Nevertheless, in these visits, fortune, or love, or my imprudence, found occasion to cast me down from the height of my virtuous thoughts to the fallen state in which you now behold me." For having observed, with bolder eyes than was becoming in a modest young woman, the genteel figure and pleasing manners of Marco Antonio; and considering his good birth and the good fortune which he expected from his father, it seemed to me that if I could obtain him for a husband, it would be the greatest happiness that I could possibly desire. Possessed by this idea, I began to look at him with more solicitude, and, as I suppose it must have been, with less discretion, for it did not long remain a secret to him, nor did the traitor either seek or need any other clue to possess himself of the secret of my breast, and rob me of my dearest hopes.

"But, sir, I know not why I should relate to you all the minute particulars of my love affairs, since they are so little to the purpose: I should rather tell you at once, what my lover with many solicitations obtained from me, which was, that, having given me his word, under what appeared to me to be great, firm, and religious adjurations, to be my husband, I surrendered myself entirely to his disposal; but not yet feeling myself assured by his vows and protestations, in order to prevent them from proving no more than idle breath, I made him write them in a paper signed with his name, and drawn up in terms so explicit, that it removed all my doubts. Having received this instrument, I made arrangements for his coming on certain night from his own place to ours, and by scaling a garden wall, entering secretly into my chamber. The night which I so much desired, at length arrived."

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Up to this point of the narration, Teodoro had remained silent, listening in breathless anxiety to the words of Leocadia, every one of which went to her heart, especially when she heard the name of Marco Antonio, and considered the extraordinary beauty and great resolution of Leocadia, together with her mental accomplishments, which plainly appeared in her mode of telling the story. But when she came to the words The night which I so much desired at length arrived,' Teodoro lost all patience, and, unable to contain herself any longer, took the words out of her mouth, saying, almost breathless—'Well, and when that happy night arrived

what then?-did he enter your chamber? -did he ?-what did he do?-did he confirm the bond afresh ?—was he satisfied with his interview?— -was your father made acquainted with it?—or what was the end of so sage and modest a beginning?"

"The end," said Leocadia, "was, that I was reduced to the distress in which you see me he did not keep his appointment—he never came at all.”

Teodoro now began to draw her breath more freely, and to recover her spirits, which were rapidly failing her, under the influence of that terrestrial fury, jealousy, who had nearly overpowered her patience and taken entire possession of her; but though somewhat relieved, still it was with anxiety and agitation that she listened to the sequel of Leocadia's story, who thus continued:

"Not only he did not come, but in a week I learned for certain that he had absented himself from his town, and taken from her home a young lady of the same place, the daughter of a gentle. man of rank, named Teodosia, of extraordinary wit and beauty: her parents being of such consequence, the news of her elopement soon reached our town, and found its way to my ears, and with it the terrible shaft of jealousy pierced my heart and fired my soul, so that both my patience and my prudence at once deserted me. Oh! unfortunate girl that I am, how did I figure to myself Teodosia more beautiful than the sun, and more witty than wit itself, and above all, more fortunate than my unfortunate self! Then I read over the terms of the bond, and found them good and valid; but although my hopes clung to them as to something sacred, yet when I thought of the suspicious company which Marco Antonio had taken with him, they all fell to the ground. I struck my face, I tore my hair, I cursed my fate, and was vexed that the unavoidable presence of my father prevented me from inflicting this penance on myself at all hours.

"At length, that I might be at liberty to complain without restraint, or, which is most likely, to end my miserable being, I resolved to quit my father's house. And, as it should seem that when any bad thought is to be put in execution, opportunity is ready to smooth all difficulties and remove all obstacles, I ventured to steal the clothes belonging to a page of my father's, and from my father himself a considerable sum of money; and one night, under cover of the darkness, I left my home and travelled some leagues,

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